“The Tablet” and gadget portability theory — I haven't written about the supposed Apple tablet yet because nobody knows anything (including whether it even exists), so everyone's just talking out of their asses about it. — Normally, I'm perfectly willing to join in and endlessly talk …

TSA Withdraws Subpoenas Against Bloggers — TSA Special Agent John Enright, left, speaks to Steven Frischling outside the blogger — In the wake of public outcry against the Transportation Security Administration for serving civil subpoenas on two bloggers, the government agency has canceled …

China Is Losing a War Over Internet — Beijing Has Prevailed in Battles, but Segment of Society Has Awakened to the Constraints — BEIJING—These appear to be dark days for the Internet in China. — Four months into a crusade against Internet pornography, the government is closing thousands of sites …

Top 10 objectively biggest tech stories of 2009 — Ignore all the other lists! As we did last year, Techmeme has distilled its very own Top 10 story list, utilizing headline ranking data archived throughout the year. While we employ a terrific team of news editors to guide our story selection …

Are You Ready for iEconomy? — Jack Dorsey's Square, Incase, Verifone and now Mophie — these companies' credit card readers are turning the iPhone/iPod touch platform into an e-commerce engine. — Mophie, a Los Angeles-based company that makes accessories for the iPod/iPhone devices …

‘Start-up’ visas to boost US tech — A proposal that will make it easier for foreign entrepreneurs in the US to start the next Google or Yahoo will be debated in the new year. — Congressman Jared Polis has proposed a start-up visa to entice “foreigners with good ideas” to stay in the US.

HTC To Launch Apple iSlate Competitor — Smartphones, tablets and netbooks are set to be high on the agenda at this year's Consumer Electronics Show as traditional PC vendors look to compete with the new Apple iSlate which is due to be released on the 26th January in the USA.

Television news in 2009: Twitter, infidelity and more — (First time visitors: Welcome to SnapStream! We make TV search software used by organizations, like the Daily Show, to search inside TV shows. Read on or learn more about our products.) — At SnapStream we've been hanging onto …

Houston company wants to be Hulu for Hispanics — Maximum TV, a local startup, has come out of more than a year of private beta. The Houston company opened its site to the public this week, granting access to a Hulu-like service that carries Spanish-language programming.

Hacker rattles 21,000 iPhone unlockers — Claiming moral high ground — Hackers have mailed 21,000 customers of iPhoneUnlockUK to remind them the company uses unlicensed software, and that their details have been compromised. — E-mails were sent out to customers of the iPhone unlocking service …

The Year (and Next Year) in Semiconductors — Looking Back, Looking Ahead — This has not been one of the great years for the economy, although it ended better than it started. Semiconductor companies started out the year in full retreat as spending just stopped dead in the fourth quarter of 2008.